Thief demands cigarettes and cash

Relevant offers

A knife-wielding thief demanded two packets of his favourite tobacco from a King Country service station attendant before grabbing cash from the till and fleeing on foot, the victim says.

Police are investigating the armed hold-up and have appealed for the public's help in order to hunt the offender down.

The man walked into the Te Kuiti Service Station on Rora St about 6.30am, Sergeant Craig Lindstrom of the Te Kuiti Police said.

"The man asked the sole male attendant on duty for a packet of cigarettes and at the same time produced a large kitchen knife and demanded the victim open the till.

"The offender has then grabbed the cigarettes and cash and fled the store on foot. Detectives are currently interviewing the victim and at present police would like to hear from anyone who noticed anything suspicious near the store between 6.15am and 6.45am today."

Te Kuiti Service Station manager, Mandeep Singh, said he was calm during the ordeal.